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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Broken Arm Brewing: Ginger Snap Brown

I know what you're thinking. Spring is here, so why are you reviewing a beer that is made for the Winter? This answer is simple: beer never goes out of style...or season.

Boom. Mind blown. You're welcome.

Now back to the Ginger Snap Brown. This is actually a homebrewed ale that was given to me by Kevin of Broken Arm Brewing. Kevin has been brewing for a while, and now that I recently got into the hobby for myself, he was gracious enough to swap some of his brew for my best attempt at making something drinkable.

Here's the information Kevin provided regarding this brew:Style: BrownABV: 6.5Mash: 4 boxes of ginger cookies were included in the mash tun. FOUR BOXES!

This Ginger Brown pours more like an amber; it's hazy with visible amounts of carbonation that ascend to create a decent cream-colored head that fades, leaving a quarter-inch retention.

The aroma is nice and sweet. Definitely get the ginger cookies. Molasses, brown sugar, and nutmeg are strong on the nose.The taste is not as sweet as I
expected. Still, the ginger cookie is the dominating
flavor. I don't get as much of the molasses or brown sugar. It gives a
clean taste. The finish is dry and clean. Not much of a lingering aftertaste. The sweetness fades quickly on the palate.Overall, this is not an overly complex beer. The flavor profile is pretty straight-forward. It's a brown ale that's been brewed with a healthy dose of delicious ginger snap cookies! In that regard, this is spot-on. My lone recommendation would be to improve the body and mouthfeel. This ale comes off lighter than I would like and, despite what I said at the top of this review, I do expect a heavier beer with this style--something that I can sit by the fire and warm with.

I want to thank Kevin for sharing his brew with me and being open to a review! You can keep up with all that Kevin is brewing at his Broken Arm Brewing Facebook page.